When politicians talk about making something affordable, what they often mean is they want to spend more tax money on it. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on health insurance is a high profile example.

And so here comes Kentucky Auditor Crit Luallen with her two cents (or actually, yours) on higher education:

"Kentucky’s policy makers must provide adequate funding to ensure that tuition is set at a level that makes postsecondary education accessible to all residents. More Kentuckians must have postsecondary degrees if we are to attract the jobs of the 21st Century and increase the quality of life for all our residents."

Examples of government largesse having a perverse impact on health care are plentiful for anyone who wants to see them. And now we have data raising questions about the assumption that government making college "more affordable" is even necessary.

"In other words, the college-entrance-aged population consists almost entirely of people who either entered college or were not academically qualified to enter college."

Should we cut waste in order to lower costs? Sure. But lack of government spending isn't really one of the things keeping people from getting a higher education.